A girl crosses the bustling streets of Manhattan, passing towering skyscrapers and herds of stylishly-clad New Yorkers and designers. She enters a crowded room filled with trained photographers, preparing to shoot photos alongside them. Elegantly dressed models cascade down the catwalk, and the girl holds her camera up, competing against the crowds for good angles.

Taylor Cherotti, a senior at Revere High School, traveled to New York City to attend the New York Film Academy on Wall Street for a month. She has been involved in photography for six years. At the camp, which began at the end of June and lasted until late July, she worked with professional photographers, including a vice producer of the magazine Vice. Cherotti highlighted the positive outcomes of her experience at the camp.

“The camp was really inspiring. There are so many crazy jobs that you can do, [and] we learned every single one of them and figured out what our hearts lie in. I saw some great work and studied some great artists,” Cherotti said.

Reflecting upon the lessons she learned while in New York, Cherotti recognized the various new skills that she obtained, which include photo editing, manipulating the camera and new lighting techniques. She believes that these lessons have helped to improve the quality of her photography.

Cherotti noted the difficulties she had to overcome and what she learned about photography careers while attending the camp.

“The most challenging part was, personally, not only getting to know the city, but also finding [my] place and where [I] want to be. Being a photographer is a very challenging [profession] and very competitive, just trying to get to a place where [I] dream to be is very hard and it takes a long time to get there. Working around schedules and cancelling plans just to [reach] desires is hard,” Cherotti said.

Cherotti returned to New York City for Fashion Week, where she first saw designer Idan Cohen’s show. She described the environment and everything she saw, including celebrities, walking into a fashion week for the first time.

“[Cohen’s show] is meant for very elegant stuff. I correlated with that, when it comes to fashion week you have to be in trend with what you’re seeing. First [I] walked into a building and got swamped by photographers. [I] walked in and saw gorgeous pastel gowns, they’re very elegant; seeing that and Kelly Osbourne and the whole set-up was just beautiful,” Cherotti said.

Cherotti took pictures for Kye, an uprising Korean pop-culture designer. A newly popular name, Kye presents her clothing in music videos. She discussed the challenging process of photographing for a professional event, especially the contrast with shooting in a studio. She also shared her interest in the intriguing aspects of fashion photography.

“[Kye] had very bright colors, you would see them in hip hop videos. Taking photos for her was very new and interesting. I was already into fashion photography; I like taking photos in studios. It was challenging with photographers [crowded] in one section. It was different from solo in a studio room,” Cherotti said.

Joseph Silvestri taught Cherotti’s first photography class at RHS, Photography 1. He explained her initial interest in photography at the beginning of the course, and what set her apart from others.

“[Cherotti’s] style was more progressive. In the self-portrait project, she was one of the few that went well above and beyond and did extra research on the project. She looked at extra photographs to generate ideas, and she told a story with every picture,” Silvestri said.

Silvestri recommended Cherotti as a prospect to Paulette Colantone, the RHS Advanced Photography teacher, due to her interest and talent in the subject. Colantone has worked with Cherotti for two years, and she explained Cherotti’s motivation to watch tutorials about softwares and learn more on her own time. She clarified Cherotti’s style and composition techniques.

“She tries to create emotion with most of her photographs and she tries to tell a story. A lot of her stuff is people and self portraits, she tries to emphasize light to tell her story,” Colantone said.

Cherotti has entered multiple competitions, including Scholastics, the Governors Show and PTA Reflections. She received two silver key awards from the Scholastics competition and advanced into the Regional Governors show. These awards validate the work she invests in her photography. She compiles all her works in her photo book, which she shows to potential clients. She has taken photos for the Richfield newspaper, charity, school events, sports and concerts. She discussed her hopes for her photography career in the future.

“If any opportunity comes for a fashion studio, I’ll take it. It’s one that puts my name out there more, which is what a photographer needs to do when [he or she is] about to blossom. I see myself having my own business and studio, working for other magazines and doing covers and photo albums. That’s what I’m hoping for in the future. Going to New York and living there is one of my dreams,” Cherotti said.

The models wrap up their show, and the final flashes of the cameras slowly blink and fade out. The crowds of photographers disperse, and the girl takes off with her camera, now filled with thousands of new shots that will hopefully inspire and tell a story to their admirers.